Mission: Smart from the Start (Smart) is a family support, community engagement and school readiness program that has as its mission to prevent the achievement gap among low-income, young children living in the most underserved communities. Background: Initiated with the support of Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino in January of 2008, Smart from the Start expands and strengthens early learning opportunities for children from birth to age five, promotes parents’ roles as their children’s first teachers, and builds neighborhood will, understanding, and capacity to support school readiness. Smart from the Start’s strengths-based approach reaches out to the city’s most vulnerable families and gives them the tools, resources, and support they need to break cycles of generational poverty and chronic school underachievement. Directly and through partner organizations, Smart from the Start provides a range of programs: from prenatal classes, home visiting and play-to-learn groups, to adult education, family stabilization services and parent support. All programs are customized to meet the unique needs of the communities they serve. Smart from the Start’s vision is that all children will enter school with the cognitive, language, physical, and social/emotional assets that lead to school and subsequent life success.